We have put together a comprehensive local SEO checklist that you can use to optimise your website for local SEO and transform the face of your business. Read on to check it out!
Google Business Profile, formerly Google My Business, is the first area to optimise for a successful local SEO strategy. When consumers search for local businesses, three businesses appear on the SERPs, known as the Google local SEO 3-pack. Users will first click the features business profiles to determine if they can meet their needs. You must therefore claim your Google Business profile listing and optimise it so it will appear on the first pages. Also, ensure to include your phone number and email on the listing to increase audience reach. Lastly, Google has transferred all profiles to Google Maps to better harmonise businesses with their local areas and audiences, making for a more convenient user experience.
2. Optimise Title Tags on your Pages
When using search engines, users will first see a business’s title tag when it appears on the results pages. The title tag gives users a preview of your page and convinces buyers to click. When creating title tags, ensure they are within Google’s allowed limit because a longer tag will only be partially visible, ensure to keep it crisp and clear. Also, consider adding a target keyword in the title tag, this will help your audience determine if the page is relevant to what they are searching for. As a result, search engines will display your listing because of its relevance to the search query.
3. Make your URLs SEO-Friendly
If you’re operating in Adelaide and building a strategy for local SEO in Adelaide, prioritise using SEO-friendly URLs. These URLs assist not only your audience but also search engines. It would help if you structured your URLs in a way that your audience will be able to remember when they search for your business again. In addition, search engines may need help understanding the context of your page and without an SEO-friendly URL, your ranking will be affected.
4. Build a Mobile-Friendly Website
About 58.8% of consumers today use their mobiles to search for local businesses. As a result of this, having a mobile-friendly website is essential. Make sure to optimise your website for mobile devices so mobile users will have a good experience when visiting your website. To achieve mobile friendliness, use a responsive design compatible with multiple devices, ensure to always check the mobile usability when building the website and when you make any updates. The goal is to ensure visitors are not frustrated with navigation issues when on your site. Webpage loading speed is also a key factor, most users will exit the site if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load. Ensure that your website loads quickly so they can access information instantly.
5. Build Quality Backlinks
Search engines consider backlinks as trust certificates for most websites. Building quality backlinks will boosts your local SEO efforts as they add to your business credibility. For Adelaide based businesses, when developing a local SEO strategy, capitalise on your local audience and use a focused link-building strategy. Consider other websites your target audience visits frequently and create backlinks to these sites to increase referral traffic. This will generate more leads to your website which can convert into sales.
6. Optimise Meta Descriptions
After optimising your ‘meta tags’, work on your sites Meta descriptions to fit your local SEO strategy. After your audience looks at your tag (the page title that will appear on the search results page), they will read through the Meta description to confirm the relevance of your site. Consider adding keywords to the description to match the user’s search query. Remember to keep the Meta description short and helpful because Google will only display up to the maximum number of characters on a long description.
7. Leverage Backend and Frontend SEO
Optimising your website for local SEO means working on elements at the back and front end of the site. Elements on both the front and back end are critical for higher ranking on search engine results pages. For local SEO strategies, these SEO elements are known as technical SEO elements, like having a detailed sitemap. A sitemap provides information about your website’s pages, videos, and other files. They allow search engines to crawl more effectively to help you rank better and grow your traffic.
8. Monitor and Respond to Reviews
Online reviews are like digital word-of-mouth marketing strategies for businesses. Users searching for a local business will consider your business’s ratings before they go through with a purchase. As a result, Google shows business ratings on listings to help users in quick decision-making. Show that you care for your customers by interacting with your reviews, responding to suggestions, and taking onboard constructive criticism. Even when handling negative reviews, remain calm, collected, and acknowledge the issue as you work towards resolving it. After the issue is resolved, update the status online, this will display a good business image.
9. Leverage Social Media Platforms
Your customers are everywhere on the web, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc. Naturally, to increase brand awareness, you should have a wide online presence. Remain active, to gain followers and build significant engagement that optimises your local SEO strategies. You can attract new audiences through social media Ads, which can result in more traffic and conversions for your business. In addition, when you build an online community, you can easily reconnect with your customers.
10. Use Local Keywords
The only way to guarantee your business will reach your local audience is by using local keywords your audience is searching for. You must feature these keywords in your Google Business listing and within the copy on your site’s pages. Begin with conducting keyword research and check the search volume data of each relevant keyword to determine how many people are searching for that query. Implement the most relevant keywords to your site which have a good number of monthly searches for optimal results.
11. Use Schema
Using structured data markups, known as schema, can boost your local SEO if you have a physical outlet for your business. Schema is a type of micro-data that improves your business’s description on SERPs. When adding schema to your website pages, be certain about the item type you are creating. Although the process is a little complex, there is a Google structured data mark-up helper to guide you through this.
Now that you have gone through this checklist, it’s time to implement your strategies and reach a wider audience within your geographical locations. Admittedly, some of these can be a bit tricky to implement. A digital marketing company can help you execute our recommended strategies. Continue updating and improving your content year round for a more responsive local SEO strategy.
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